Wednesday, November 30, 2011

After Thanksgiving dinner was over and the turkey was picked almost clean, there's not much else to do except make stock. I'm not of the mindset that you need to doctor much to make a basic turkey stock. Onions, carrots, and celery are nice additions, but if I'm going to add them to soup, then I just turn the whole pot into Turkey Vegetable Soup.

I just add water and simmer the bones for an hour or two to make a basic stock. I don't add salt until the broth has been simmering for a while because the turkey is already seasoned, so additional salt may be unnecessary.

Of course, you can also add lemongrass or spices or any other seasonings you wish, but the key to a good broth is more about heat level for whichever type of broth you want and let it simmer for a while, and skim to remove scum and other impurities.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Actually, I should point out that my version differs from the majority of recipes I've found online, which have a filling of ground beef, cheddar cheese, cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream. Where are the vegetables? For that matter, it already sounded too similar to the English Cottage Pie with Ground Beef and Mushrooms I was already making for Thanksgiving dinner. So I decided to use a basic Chicken Pot Pie filling. My tater tot casserole with chicken pot pie filling was a hit, just a spoonful was left at the end of the night.

Remembering the rosemary and sage salt sample I got from Woody's Gourmet on Day 145, I decided adding a bit of herbs to the salt sounded pretty delicious. The sample was only 1/2 teaspoon though. Way too little for a 15-lb turkey. So I added some more dried rosemary and sage from my spice cabinet into the salt rub. I didn't go overboard with the spices since I didn't want them to burn while the turkey was baking for so many hours. The result was the usual perfectly crispy skin and juicy turkey that the salt rub always produces with just a hint of rosemary and sage.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

I was feeling decidedly lazy this year and only planned on roasting the turkey and making Homemade Turkey Gravy from the drippings. I asked the middle '87 to make the mashed potatoes and stuffing. Her mom, my youngest uncle's wife, brought Vietnamese desserts. The older '88 brought pasta salad. Her mom, my youngest aunt, brought over Thit Heo Nuong (Vietnamese Grilled Pork). Cousin A and her husband provided drinks. The younger '88 sent over the cute turkey cake pops. And my friend DP stopped by later with apple and pumpkin pies and a souvenir for me from Brazil.

Since my cousins alleviated my worries about the main side dishes, I decided to make Cottage Pie with Ground Beef and Mushrooms and Tator Tot Casserole.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Shortly before Halloween, I was contacted by Emily Straubel of Reed's Inc. asking if I'd like to sample its Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer. I'm a fan of Reed's Ginger Brew and Virgil's Root Beer, so I eagerly agreed to sample its butterbeer, I mean, butterscotch beer.

While Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer isn't affiliated with Harry Potter, there are plenty of allusions. The flyer said, "Taste the magic of a wizard’s buttery, vanilla, cream soda brew. Since 1374, the Flying Cauldron has been making this magical brew for under-aged wizards, and wizards who are young at heart, at their brew pub in Hogsbreath, England."

Not Hogsmeade, but Hogsbreath. Not the Leaky Cauldron, but Flying Cauldron. Not butterbeer, but butterscotch beer.

Monday, November 21, 2011

In an effort to eat healthier, I sometimes switch to brown rice. I like the firmer texture and slight "pop" as I bite into each grain. And while replacing white rice with brown rice doesn't really need a specific recipe, I thought it'd be nice to come up with fried rice recipe that would be healthier for you. This recipe would be right at home at P.F. Chang's or any Chinese-American kitchen.

I would say it's healthy, but I'm sure someone will debate the nutritional value of rice, even if it's brown. Or chicken, even if it's breast meat. Or eggs, even if you used all whites, which I didn't.

So! Healthier fried rice if you will.

With broccoli.

Because no one will argue with me that broccoli isn't healthy?

And in the run-up to Thanksgiving, perhaps a slightly healthier meal is in order before you indulge?

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

One of my college friends was in town for her maternal grandmother's funeral, which was held at SkyRose Chapel at Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuaries in Whittier. I've never been inside the chapel, though my ba noi (Vietnamese paternal grandmother) and oldest uncle, as well as countless others from my hometown are buried at this cemetery.

Does it look familiar? Will you think I'm a complete nerd when I tell you that I recognized it as the filming location for the scene in "Star Trek" where Spock informed the Vulcan Science Academy that he was going to attend Starfleet Academy instead?